'Duck Dynasty' Rules A&E, Scores 2013's Top Reality Show Ratings

Last night’s back-to-back episodes kicking of the A&E reality show’s third season gave the network its most-watched telecasts of all time among all key demos.

The 10 p.m. EST installment rang up 8.6 million total viewers as well as 5.0 million adults 18-49 and 5.0 million adults 25-54. For the hour, Duck Dynasty averaged 8.6 million total viewers, 5.0 million adults 18-49 and 4.9 million adults 25-54.

The numbers also made the show the no. 1 nonfiction (read: reality) series on cable so far in 2013.

Compare those figures to Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a program embraced by major media outlets as a cultural force which manages to pull in a fraction of what those duck-hunting heroes attract.

New episodes of Duck Dynasty air at 10 p.m. EST Wednesday nights on A&E.